The Temple of Demeter Chthonia at Hermione

Opuscula 14 is published with open access. Printed edition distributed by Eddy.se AB. Also available at Amazon.com, Adlibris, and Bokus. View volume at ERIH PLUS. The Temple of Demeter Chthonia at Hermione By Jesper Blid (Austrian Academy of Sciences, Austria), with an appendix by Baukje van den Berg (Central European University, Austria) Abstract This paper presents the results of an architectural survey of the foundations of a Classical temple, presumably that of Demeter Chthonia, located inside the chief sanctuary of the ancient city of Hermione. It also studies ancient architectural members built into the walls of the Taxiarches Church situated on top of the temple foundations. By analysing these material remains and connecting them to the observations of 19th-century travellers to Kastri (Hermione), the paper draws conclusions about the original size and appearance of the Temple of Demeter Chthonia. Bibliographical information Jesper Blid, with an appendix by Baukje van den Berg, ’The Temple of Demeter Chthonia at Hermione’, Opuscula. Annual of the Swedish Institutes at Athens and Rome (OpAthRom) 14, Stockholm 2021, 101-134. ISSN: 2000-0898. ISBN: 978-91-977799-3-7. Softcover, 478 pages. https://doi.org/10.30549/opathrom-14-07 Hermione. A Greek cityscape and its people The section on Hermione, published in OpAthRom 14, comprises six articles: Alcestis Papadimitriou | An…

Labraunda 5. The Andrones (2019)
Labraunda / 2019-10-25

Published by the Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul (SRII) and distributed by Eddy.se AB at srii.bokorder.se. Also available for purchase at Amazon.com, Bokus.com, and Adlibris.com. The Labraunda-series is edited by the Editorial Committee of the Swedish Institutes at Athens and Rome. Labraunda 5. The Andrones By Pontus Hellström and Jesper Blid This is the final publication of the two Hekatomnid Andrones at Labraunda. The older of these (the Andron of Maussollos or Andron B) was built by the satrap Maussollos (377/6–353/2 BC). This is shown by the dedicatory inscription on the architrave. The other andron (Andron A) is clearly later and was probably built by Idrieus (351/0 344/3 BC), the brother and successor of Maussollos as satrap of Karia. This building has the same kind of dedication, but the name of the commissioner is not preserved. These two buildings are unique both for their size, temple-like front, and high degree of preservation and for their Ionic-Doric mixed order, the function as banqueting halls, and the large niche at the back of the inner room. In the publication the architecture of the two buildings is systematically presented together with plans and elevations of the ruins and reconstructions. The walls are of…

Excavations at the Monastery of St Antony at the Red Sea

Opuscula 9 (2016) is now available for purchase and free download at bokorder.se. Also available at Amazon.com, Amazon.de, Bokus.com and Adlibris.com. Excavations at the Monastery of St Antony at the Red Sea By Jesper Blid, Fr Maximous El-Antony, Hugo Lundhaug, Jason Zaborowski, Meira Polliack, Mengistu Gobezie Worku & Samuel Rubenson Abstract This paper discusses the results from recent archaeological investigations at the Monastery of St Antony in Egypt, including the remains of a number of building phases predating the current church, locally produced pottery, and manuscript fragments written in Coptic, Arabic, Hebrew, and Ge’ez. Introduction St Antony is, according to tradition, the early 4th-century institutor of Christian monasticism, and his monastery, located some 30 km from the Red Sea coast and about 125 km south of Suez, is regarded as the oldest still-inhabited monastery. As for the chronology of the actual material formation of a monastery at the site, Antony must have settled here sometime before 337, if we are to believe the biography written by Athanasius of Alexandria shortly after his death. Several sources from the end of the 4th century mention the disciples of Antony staying at his desert retreat after his death in 356. Medieval sources refer…

Labraunda 2012-2013

Opuscula 7 (2014) is now available for purchase and free download at Bokorder.se. Also available at Amazon.com, Amazon.de, Bokus.com and Adlibris.com. Labraunda 2012-2013. A preliminary report on the work at the sanctuary. With a new reconstruction drawing of the sanctuary by Jesper Blid Kullberg and an appendix by Fredrik Tobin By Lars Karlsson, Jesper Blid Kullberg, Baptiste Vergnaud, Agneta Freccero & Fredrik Tobin Abstract This article is divided into two parts. In the first part, preliminary reports on the archaeological work conducted at the sanctuary during the years 2012 and 2013 is presented, and in the second part, two conservation projects are discussed. The first part includes a description of the excavations at the Split Rock by Lars Karlsson, an account of the excavations on the slope of the Monumental Tomb, a description of the work at the Akropolis Fortress gate by Baptiste Vergnaud, and a synopsis of the work at the M-Building. The second part starts with a report on the preparations for the stabilization of Andron A and continues with an account of the last two years of marble conservation by Agneta Freccero. The final report on the Exedra of Demetrios on the Temple Terrace will be presented…

Book reviews
Book review , Content / 2013-12-02

Opuscula 6 (2013) is now available for purchase and free download at Bokorder.se. Also available at Amazon.com, Amazon.de, Bokus.com and Adlibris.com. Books reviewed in Opuscula 6 (2013) Jesper Blid | Building a new Rome: The imperial colony of Pisidian Antioch (25 BC–AD 700), eds. E.K. Gazda & D. Y. Ng, in collaboration with Ü. Demirer, Ann Arbor, Michigan 2011. 219 pp., 168 ills. +1 video disc. ISBN 978-0-9741873-4-1. https://doi.org/10.30549/opathrom-06-11 Anton Bonnier | E. Farinetti, Boeotian Landscapes. A GIS-based study for the reconstruction and interpretation of the archaeological datasets of ancient Boeotia (BAR-IS, 2195), Oxford: Archaeopress 2011. xiv + 425 pp. + 1 CD. ISBN 978-1-4073-0750-3. https://doi.org/10.30549/opathrom-06-12 Maja Kramer | G. López Monteagudo, M.L. Neira Jiménez, ‘Mosaico’, in Arte Romano de la Bética. Mosaico. Pintura. Manufacturas, ed. P. León, Sevilla: Focus-Abengoa 2010. 381 pp., 482 ills. ISBN 978-84-89895-27-0. https://doi.org/10.30549/opathrom-06-13 Gullög Nordquist | Mesohelladika. La Grèce continentale au Bronze Moyen. Actes du colloque international organisé par l’École française d’Athènes, en collaboration avec l’American School of Classical Studies at Athens et le Netherlands Institute in Athens, Athènes, 8–12 mars 2006 (BCH Suppl., 52), eds. A. Philippa-Touchais, G. Touchais, S. Voutsaki & J. Wright, Athens 2010. 1046 pp. ISBN 978-2-86958-210-1. https://doi.org/10.30549/opathrom-06-14 Vassilis P. Petrakis…

Labraunda 2011

Opuscula 5 (2012) is now available for purchase and free download at Bokorder.se. Also available at Amazon.com, Amazon.de, Bokus.com, and Adlibris.com. Labraunda 2011. A preliminary report on the Swedish excavations with an appendix by Ragnar Hedlund By Lars Karlsson, Jesper Blid & Olivier Henry Abstract The main goals of the 2011 campaign were the excavation of the Kepez tower, the West Church and the necropoleis. The tower of Kepez was excavated and black-gloss pottery indicates a date in the 3rd century BC. The 2011 excavations in the West Church uncovered three Late Roman and Byzantine building phases. Among the finds from Late Antiquity was a well-preserved glass lamp with a Greek inscription and a marble figurine, possibly representing an apostle or a saint. The excavations in the necropolis uncovered eleven tombs in the Area 5B, located along the Sacred Way, completing the excavation initiated in 2010. New tombs were discovered in the territory east and south of the sanctuary. Finally, the three stone sarcophagi inside the Built Tomb were moved in order to facilitate complete excavation and the cleaning of all the interior space of this monumental tomb. The conservation of architectural marble was continued and included the conservation of…

Labraunda 2010

Opuscula 4 (2011) is now available for purchase and free download at Bokorder.se. Also available at Amazon.com, Amazon.de, Bokus.com, and Adlibris.com. Labraunda 2010. A preliminary report on the Swedish excavations By Lars Karlsson, Jesper Blid & Olivier Henry Abstract The campaign of 2010 continued the work which was initiated last year. The excavations in the fortress on the Tepesar Hill were completed. The fortress consists of a large, early Hekatomnid tower where two black-gloss vessels indicated a dating of the tower to about 380–350 BC. In the two additions to the tower, several wellpreserved vessels dating from the 3rd century BC were uncovered. The latest fragment was a painted piece from a lagynos from around 200 BC, but there were no fragments of Megarian bowls. The test probe of last year in the West Church Complex was extended to a larger trench measuring c. 9 × 12 m. Evidence for three major phases could be established by J. Blid: (1) a Late Classical stoa; (2) the stoa colonnade is rebuilt into a Christian basilica of the 5th century AD; (3) a Middle Byzantine building of possibly 12th–13th-century date. Many marble pieces were retrieved from the marble furniture of the church,…

Labraunda 2009

Opuscula 3 (2010) is now available for purchase and free download at Bokorder.se. Also available at Amazon.com, Amazon.de, Bokus.com, and Adlibris.com. Labraunda 2009. A preliminary report on the Swedish excavations with contributions by Jesper Blid and Olivier Henry By Lars Karlsson Abstract The 2009 campaign in Labraunda accomplished three goals: the termination of the excavations in the Byzantine fort on the Acropolis and in the Late Roman Tetraconch and the complete excavation of the impressive marble chamber tomb along the Sacred Way. In the Acropolis Fortress, evidence was found to support the military character of the Byzantine establishment: the rooms along the fortification wall were paved and had a rectangular shape, suggesting defensive rooms. In these rooms sling stones were found. Structures dating from the Hekatomnid period were further investigated this year, and a well cut into the gneiss bedrock was excavated. In the Tetraconch, the north apse was excavated down to bedrock and a coin from Constantius II (348–357/8) suggests an ante quem dating for this unique and sophisticated structure. The geophysical investigations indicated that a church is located on the terrace below the Tetraconch and a first sondage was conducted here. The large marble chamber tomb was completely…

Labraunda 2008

Opuscula 2 (2009) is now available for purchase and free download at Bokorder.se. Also available at Amazon.com, Amazon.de, Bokus.com and Adlibris.com. Labraunda 2008. A preliminary report on the Swedish excavations By Lars Karlsson, Jesper Blid & Olivier Henry Abstract The Swedish archaeological project at the Karian sanctuary of Zeus Labraundos celebrated, in 2008, sixty years of work. The year 2008 was very special, both because of these celebrations, but also because of the important finds that came to light during the excavation of the unusual Roman bath that was discovered in 2007. It is built in the shape of a four-leaf clover (the so-called Tetraconch), and can be dated to the first half of the fourth century AD. A large amount of finds were discovered, including superb pieces of plates in African Red Slip and Late Roman C wares, a water flask, and coloured marble pieces. In the necropolis, we excavated another 19 rock-cut tombs. The finds from these include a golden ring with a cornelian stone and 22 gold appliqués in the shape of rosettes and palmettes. The appliqués had four holes to fasten them to the drapery of the deceased. They are very similar to appliqués found in…

Opuscula Atheniensia 31–32 (2006–2007)
Opuscula Atheniensia / 2008-12-01

Now available for purchase at Amazon.com, Amazon.de, Bokus.com, Adlibris.com, and Bokorder.se Contents Katie Demakopoulou, Nicoletta Divari-Valakou, Monica Nilsson & Ann-Louise Schallin | Excavations in Midea 2005 Berit Wells, Arto Penttinen & Jenni Hjohlman, with contributions by Kristian Göransson, Arja Karivieri & Maria Daniela Trifirò | The Kalaureia Excavation Project. The 2004 and 2005 seasons Mats Johnson | Early farming in the land of springs. Settlement patterns and agriculture in Neolithic Greece Mercourios Georgiadis & Chrysanthi Gallou | The cemeteries of the Argolid and the south-eastern Aegean during the Mycenaean period. A landscape and waterscape assessment Helène Whittaker | Burnt animal sacrifice in Mycenaean cult. A review of the evidence David S. Reese | Organic imports from Late Bronze Age Cyprus (with special reference to Hala Sultan Tekke) Helen Mangou, Michalis Petropoulos, Alexander Gasparatos, Elias Tsakmakis & Panayiotis V. Ioannou | The temple of Artemis (F)aontia, at Rakita, Achaia, Greece. Chemical compositions of metal and glass votives Lena Sjögren | The Eteocretans. Ancient traditions and modern constructions of ethnic identity Jesper Blid | New research on Carian Labraunda in Late Antiquity Book reviews Bibliographical information Opuscula Atheniensia. Annual of the Swedish Institute at Athens (OpAth) 31–32, Stockholm 2007. ISSN: 0078-5520. ISBN:…